Diatoms: Their strange evolution and remarkable properties

Summary, in English

We review some new literature on diatoms, with emphasis on genomics, evolution, ecology and biomimetic nanotechnical applications. Diatoms account for a substantial part of the photosynthetic production on this planet, and their genome is a mosaic of contributions from different sources. They occupy very diverse ecological niches, and may have been the first organisms to carry out C4 photosynthesis. Their frustrules (silica enclosures) with their elaborate sculpturing make it possible to follow the occurence of different forms back in time, and the frustrules is also the main reason that they are interesting for biotechnology.



Izvleček: Prispevek je pregled novih virov o kremenastih algah s povdarkom na genomiki, evoluciji, ekologiji ter biomimetični nanotehnološki aplikaciji. Kremenaste alge prispevajo velik delež k fotosintezni produkciji našega planeta. Njihov genom je mozaik elementov različnega izvora. Zasedajo različne ekološke niše, in verjetno so bile prvi organizmi s C4 način fotosinteze. Njihove frustule (silikatni ovoji) z izdelanimi raznolikimi vzorci omogočajo sledenje različnih oblik v zgodovini in prav frustule so tiste, zaradi katerih so kremenaste alge zanimive za biotehnologe.

• Author: Lars Olof Björn; Gertrud Cronberg
• Department/s: Molecular Cell Biology; Division aquatic ecology
• Publishing year: 2009
• Language: English
• Pages: 33-40
• Publication/Series: Acta Biologica Slovenica
• Volume: 52
• Issue: 2
• Document type: Journal article review
• Publisher: Biological Society of Slovenia
• Topic: Biological Sciences; Ecology
• Keywords: endosymbiosis; dynamite; diatoms; C4 photosynthesis; chloroplasts; omega-3 fatty acid; nanotechnology; silica
• Status: Published
• Project: Photobiology
• Research group: Photobiology
• ISBN/ISSN/Other: ISSN: 1408-3671